Wagon-brake.



No. 817,358. PATENTED APR. l0, 1906. H. ZWILLING Sz J. T. DROSTE.

WAGON BRAKE.

APPLICATION mmm JUNE 24, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Nm 817,358. PATENTE() APR. l0, 1906. HB ZWILLING z J. T. DROSTE.

WAGON BRAKE. APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 24,1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY ZWILLING AND JOSEPH T. DROSTE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

WAGON-BRAK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Tulle 24| 1 905. Serial N0- 266,733.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY ZWILLING and JOSEPH T. Dnosrn, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented `certain new and useful Improvements in Wagon-Brakes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

Our invention has relation to` improvements in wagon-brakes; and it consistsin the novel arrangement and combination of parts more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of our invention mounted in the front of a wagon (shown in outline) with parts in normal position. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the device with operating-lever tilted forward in the act of applying the Fig. 3 is a front elevation of Fig. 2, the wa on-body being broken. Fig. 4 isa verticalgsection on line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3, showing the operatingelever, however, in normal position and in dotted lines the releasing po` sition. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modification mounted at the side of the wagonbody, and Fig. 7 is a front elevation of Fig. 6.`

The present invention is an improvement on the construction ofvbrake shown and debrakes.

- scribed in our pendin application for Letters Patent, filed Novem er 5, 1904, Serial No. 231,555, and has for its object4 to qualify the latter in. certain details, `notably in the omission of the spool on the shaft from which leads the chain to the brake-lever and in the substitution therefor of suitable link connections which will minimize the time necessary to a ply the brake-shoe to the wheel.

A furtlier object is to introduce devices, preferably in the shape of springs, which will restore the operating-lever to `its normal position or the position for effectin an advance oif the ratchet-disk controlling t e aforesaid s ia t.

A further object is to provide other details whose advantages will be better apparent from a detailed description of the invention, which is as follows:

Referring to the drawing?, and particularly to Figs. l to 5, inclusive, re )resents a wagon-body, and W (in outline) t e rear wheels thereof. Adapted to engage the tires of the rear wheels are the brake-shoes l l, carriedy at the ends of the depending arms of the brake-levers 2, pivoted below the wagonu body, the meeting ends of the inner arms of the levers being coupled on one side to aretracting-spring 3, which draws the shoes away from thetires, and being coupledon the opposite side to the rear end of a brake member or rod 4, leading forward, as shown. To the parts thus far described we make no claim, as these are well known in the art and form no part of the present invention. In fact, the present attachment may be coupled by the skilled mechanic to any form or design of brake-shoe. The immediate improvement may be described as follows: Mounted rotatably in the looped ends of the pairs of hang ers a, a and b b', secured to the wagon-body at the front thereof, is a shaft 5, at one end of which (between the hangers b b) and in line both with the longitudinal center of the wagon-body and with the member 4 is carried a crank-arm 6, the free end of which is provided with a rib or `lug 7, to which are coupled the adjacent ends of the links 8, (or a single link forked at its ends,) whose opposite ends are pivotally coupled to the adjacent end of the member 1l. The side of the arm 6 is provided with a projection or shoulder 9, which in any rearwardoscillation of the arm is arrested by the edge of the adjacent hanger b,which said` rojection or lateral formation overlaps. e rearward oscillation of the arm 6 is caused, of course, by the draft of the spring 3 in the act of retracting the brake-shoes l from the wheels upon disengagement ofsaid shoes from tlieirbraking position, as subsequently to be explained, and by arrestin the arm 6 in the manner indicated the s ack between the shoes and the brake mechanism proper is `reduced to a minimum, so that very little time `is consumed in applying the brakes. In the pending applicationaforesaid, wherea windingi spool and chain were used, the unwinding of the spool would produce such abnormal slack in the chain which had to be Vtaken up every time the brake was applied that `this feature made the device objectionable, considerable time being consumedin taking up this slack. This objection is eliminated from the present improvement. As in the pending application aforesaid, so in the present improvement the shaft 5 is loosely embraced between `the hangers a a. by the forked lower end `of an operating-lever `10, and rigidly secured to the shaft between the fork members of the lever is a section of a ratchet-disk 11, :(a section. be-

IOO

ingv sufficient in this form, since being mounted in front of the wagon in the event of the horse backing up against a full ratchet the teeth thereof might injure the animal,) with which is normally engaged the swinging actuatin lor advancing pawl 12, pivoted at the base o the fork, so that when the lever 10 is pushed or oscillated forward by the foot of the driver, Fig. 2, the pawl will rotate the ratchet, the latter turning the shaft 5 and oscillating the arm 6 forward. The latter draws on the links S and member 4 and the brakes are applied. With a return of the lever to its original position, Fig. 5, the pawl 12 is ready to engage a new tooth and impart an additional turn to the shaft, the links 8 tightening the member 4 and the shoes with each oscillation. In practice one or two scillations Will suffice to set the brakes rigidly. In the present improvement the lever 10 is returned to its normal position for engagement of its awl with the next tooth of the l ratchet by t e following means: The base of the lever 10 has a rearwardly-bent portion or arm 10 proj ecting under the wagon-body, the free end of the arm being provided with an elongated slot 13, through whichv loosely passes the free tapering end of the spring-arm 14, disposed in a plane parallel to normal lposition, Fig. .5, the moment the latvss ter is re ased to begin a new operation. The slot 13 is elongated to allow for the necessary play therein, as is obvious. Once the ratchetdisk is advanced with any forward swing of the lever 10 it is prevented from rotating backward (under the tension of the spring 3) by the locking-pawl l5, which is pivotally swung from a point between the hangers a a', its axis of suspension being located above the arc described by the free end of the pawl 12, as in our pending application, Fig. 2. When the lever 10 is restored to its normal position, the space separating the pawls along the ratchet is one tooth, Fig. 5, and in this space is located a guide-pin 16, (secured between the hangers a a,) over which the free end of the pawl 12 is free to ride when the driver wishes to disengage the locking-pawl by a sudden' impact of the pawl 12 against it. This is accomplished by the driver givinCr the lever 1() a forcible kick rearwardly, whic action releases the pawl 12 from the ratchet, the free end of said pawl riding over the guide-pin 16 and tripping the locking-pawl 15 also out of engagement with the ratchet. The ratchet being now free to revolve in the opposite direction under the tension of the spring 3, the brakes are released. (Dotted position in Fig. 5.) The pawl 15 then drops back into engagement and the parts 10 and 12 are again restored to normal position by the spring-arm 14in readiness for another application of the brakes. (Full position of parts in Fig. 5.) WW

In Figs. 6 and 7 We Show a modification in which the ratchet 11 is mounted on the side, the remaining parts being substantially the same as or identical with those shown in the main form. In the last modification the ratchet 11 is provided with a full periphery of teeth, as it is located out of the Way of the draft-animals and the latter cannot beinjured by the teeth of the ratchet in the event the animal should back up too close to the wagon-body. In this modification the operating lever 10 is preferably worked by hand, in which event the restoring-spring 14 is omitted, as the driver can always pull the lever back to normal position by hand. In this modification, too, we substitute an arm 6', corresponding to the arm 6 in the first form of the invention, the arm 6( being arrested or limited in its rearward oscillation by coming in contact with the boss 17, from which the pawl 15 is swung, the boss 17 being formed on the face of the plate p, be-

tween which and the plate p the several parts are mounted.

Having described our invention, what we claim is-- 1. In a brake mechanism, a rotatable shaft, an operating-lever swinging loosely about the axis of the shaft, a pawl pivoted at the base of the lever, a ratchet-disk carried by the shaft adjacent to the lever and adapted to be advanced by the pawl aforesaid, a' locking-pawl normally engaging the ratchetdisk and having an axis of suspension above the arc described by the free end of the advancing pawl, the latter being adapted to trip the locking-pawl upon oscillation of the operating-lever in proper direction, substantially as set forth.

2. In a brake mechanism,l a rotatable shaft, an arm on the same, a link connecting the arm to a suitable brake member, means for limiting or arresting the sweep ofthe arm for the released position of the brake, an operating-lever swinging loosely about the axis of the shaft, a pawl pivoted at the base of the lever, a ratchet-disk on the shaft adjacent to the lever adapted to be advanced by the pawl upon the tilting of the lever in one direction, means for automatically returning the operating-lever to its original position after any particular advance of the ratchet-v disk, a locking-pawl normally engaging the ratchet-disk and having an axis of suspension above the arc vdescribed by the free end of the advancing pawl, the latter being adapted to trip the locking-pawl upon the oscillation of the lever from its normal position, in the opposite direction, substantially as set forth.

3. In a brake mechanism, a rotatable shaft, an arm on the same, a link connecting the arm to a suitable brake member, means for limiting the sweep of the arm for the released position of the brake, a bent operatinglever swinging loosely about the axis of the shaft, a paWl pivoted to the lever above its axis of oscillation, a ratchet-disk on the shaft in position to be engaged by the pavvl and advanced thereby upon oscillation of the lever in one direction, a spring having one end iixed, and a free end passing loosely through the bent arm of the operating-lever for restoring the latter and its pawl to engaging position after any particular advance of the atclhet by the lever, substantially as set ort i.

4. In a brake mechanism, a rotatable) shaft, an operating-lever swinging loosely about the axis of the same, a paWl pivoted at the base of the lever, a ratchet on the shaft adapted to be engaged by the paWl, a lockn ing-pavvl normally engaging the ratchet and 2o having an axis of suspension above the arc described by the free end of the advancing paWl, and means for guiding' the free end of the advancing naWl into engagement With the locking-pawl for tripping the latter out 25 HENRY ZWILLING. Josnrn T. DRosTE.

Witnesses: p EMIL STAREK, f Jos. A. MIoHEn'l 

